Improvement in wheelbarrows



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIoE.

THOMAS DOLAN, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN WH EELBARROWS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 217,864, dated July 29, 1879 g application .filed September 20, 1878.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS DOLAN, of the city and county of Albany, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in VWheelbarrows, which improvements are fully described in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a wheelbarrow embodying the improvements in this invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional eleva tion of the improved parts of the wheelbarrow, illustrating one form of the construction of the same; and Fig. 3 is a sectional eleva- 1 tion illustrating another form of construction of the improved parts.

My invention relates to wheelbarrows having pivoted or hinged legs; and consists in combining with the side bars, rails, or handlebars of the wheelbarrow a pair of swinging or hinged or pivoted legs in such a manner that when the side handle-bars are raised the said hinged legs will hang vertically from the same, and will be made to operate as fulcrums, by which the wheel end of the barrow may be elevated, and at the same time permit the operator to proj ect the entire body of the barrow forward with its wheel elevated, so as to readily surmount a sudden elevation, as, for instance, the curb-stone of a sidewalk of a street.

In the drawings, A-represents a side bar or handle-bar of the wheelbarrow. B is the wheel, and C is one of the legs.

The said legs are pivoted or hinged to the handle-bars A, as shown in Fig. 1 by full lines,

each leg being pivoted or hinged to its side handle-bar at a point back from the wheel equal to about one-half of the length of the said bars, or more or less, as selected.

The exactform ofthe construction ofthe hinge or device fr pivoting the legs to the bar is not essential, as it may be variously constructed. In cheap barrows the legs C may be made to have a hinge connection with the bars by forming in the lower side of the handle-bars mortises, in which the upper ends of the legs may enter, and be secured by pins or bolts a, as shown in Fig. 1.

If desired, the said mortises may be made to consist of metal socketsD, Fig.2, which sockets may be let into the lower sides of the handlebars, as shown in said figure by full lines, or be secured to the lower sides of said bars, as shown by dotted lines in said iigure; and in either case the legs, which may be made of either iron or wood, are to have their upper ends inserted in the said sockets, and secured by the pivot a, as shown. This mode of construction is simple, and permits the legs to readily swing from the inclined position (shown by full lilies) to a vertical position (shown by dotted lines in the same gure,) while at the same time the legs are prevented from folding under and toward the handle ends of the bars by the rear portion, b, of the sockets bearing against the rear portion of the legs, as at c.

Another' form of construction that may be used is shown in Fig. 3, which consists of a hinge, E, having one part secured to the side handle-bar A, and the other portion to the upper end of the leg, while the end of the leg is made with a bevel to bear against the lower side of the 'handle-bar A, and cause the leg to incline outward and downward, as shown, to prevent folding under or back.

The manner in which my invention is to be operated is as follows The operator will hold the barrow by its handles the same as with barrows of ordinary construction, and will lift the handled end until the lower ends of the legs are clear from the ground, as shown by leg G1 in dotted lines in Fig. 1, when the said leg will swing from the inclined position shown by full lines in Fig. 1 to that of dotted lines G1 in the same gure. When the wheel B meets an obstacle, such as a stone, S, the operator will lower the handled end of the barA row from position of .A1 to that of A2, when the lower end oisthe'leg will bear on the ground, and at the same time stand vertical as leg GZ. (Shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1.) When the barrow is in this position, with its wheel against the obstacle S, and the leg standing vertically and bearing on the ground, the operator will bear down on the handles ofthe bar row, and throw the same down from dotted lines A2 to that of A3, and at the same time push the barrow forward to the position of dotted lines A3 and B', when the wheel B will be at once elevated and landed forward to the top tail-board, said supports being connected byA brace-bars to notched bars, as shown in the patent of H. Lawrence, -July 18, 1871, No. 117,085; but

rlhe lower ends of the' What I do claim is- In a wheelbarrow, the combination of the side bars with the legs pivoted thereto, and capable of a limited motion forward and backward, whereby the wheel may be raised and forced forward over an obstacle by pressur on the handles.

THOMAS DOLAN.

Witnesses:

ALEX. SELKIRK, CHARLEs SELKIRK. 

